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Nikon Coolpix AW100 review

Beauty, brawn and brains – what more could you ask for? The Nikon Coolpix AW100 impresses

£330

01 May 2012/12:00BST

design

The 16MP AW100 isn’t just one of the nicest looking tough cams out there, it’s also one of the best specced. Check out the fetching camouflage finish for survivalist types for starters or else it’s available in orange or black.

out in the wild

It’s no airhead though; it packs GPS, a world map and a digital compass, so you can not only geotag images but check where you are and in which direction you’re pointing.

A-GPS

Unusually, the AW100 offers assisted GPS and not the standalone version. A-GPS, mostly found in smartphones, is more precise and much faster at detecting a position.

scramble-proof

On top of that there’s some impressive scramble-proof tough credentials. That means shockproof to drops from 1.5m, freezeproof down to -10 degrees Celsius and waterproof in depths down to 10m.

image quality

The 16MP Nikon took the best photos in our most recent tough cam test, beating off the likes of the Fujifilm FinePix XP150 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT20. Images taken with the AW100 had fine detail and sharpness, even at high ISOs.

1080p video and features

The Nikon AW100’s 1080p at 30fps video handles quick motion with rare grace and keeps picture noise to a minimum, while the 5x optical zoom gives plenty of flexibility. And to top it all off, its panorama mode (for 180 and 360 degree photos) works beautifully.